Knitting-machine needle



E. M. WITHERELL. KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I, 192l- Patehted June a, 1922.

. Needles,

PATEN'i omen.

EARL M. WITHEBELL, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

KNITTING-MACHINE NEEDLE.

Specification of Letters fatent. P t t Jun 6, 2

Application filed March 1, 1921. Serial No. 448,811.

T 0 all wkom it may concern:

, Be it known that LEARL M. WITHERELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knitting-Machine of which the following is a specification, refrence being had therein to the accompanying 1 drawing.

This invention relates to knittin'g ma chines and has special reference to a novel form of needle for such machines and the manipulation of same.

Th principal object is to produce a form of needle which may be employed in cooperation with other common forms of needles in such a manner as to permit of the continuous knitting of fabric, such as hosiery or the like, embodying two or more different arrangements of stitches, for example the combination of ribbed and flat stitching as found in hosiery.

Another object is that of providing a novel method of cooperatively engaging different sets of needles to permit of such continuous operation on a single machine during the changing of the stitch.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the further description of the invention.

In the Jccompanying drawing forming part of this application and in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fragmental portion of a knitting machine needle carrying dial and cylinder such as commonly used in the knitting of hosiery; and

Figure 2 is a perspective View of an improved form of spring barbed needle.

In hosiery knitting it is the usual method to transfer the ribbed portions of hosiery to a different machine on completed in a different form of stitch, and the expense and annoyance connected therewith is well known to those versed in the art, and, while it is known that there are some comparatively few machines that avoid this by accomplishing a continuous process on one machine, it is possible only at the expense of considerable time,.due to the cumbersome and slow method of changing the stitches from one end of a needle to the other disposed neewhich can machine 18 and changing the horizontally dles to vertically operative ones, only be accomplished when the run very slowly.

which the" article is In my present invention the different sets of needles remain in the same angular relation to each other at all times and at a predetermined moment in the operation of the machlne the stitches in the garment being knitted are transferred from the horizontal to the vertical needles in the manner which I shall proceed to describe, it being understood that the angular relation of the different sets of needles may vary considerably from that here illustrated.

1 represents the horizontally disposed nee dle carrying dial of a hosiery knitting machine which has formed in the upper face thereof radially disposedslots in which the needles reciprocate, the upturned inner ends of the needles, extend through the slots and are controlled by the usual arrangement of cams, not shown.

2 represents the upper end of the vertically disposed cylinder of the machine within theouter circumferential face of which are formed spaced grooves or channels in which the common vertically disposed needles 3 operate.

In the method, for example, of ordinarily producing a common ribbed and flat stitched sock, certain of the vertical needles 3 are held out of action and the stitches which are thus missed by the cylinder needles are carried on by the dial needles so that the garment is completed in the desired ribbed state. Then when the fiat stitching is commenced all of those stitches carried on the dial needles are transferred to the cylinder needles and the former thrown out of action unless employed in producing some other form of stitch, such as double stitching or the like, which it is not considered necessary to describe.

To accomplish this transfer of stitches I have illustrated two different forms of dial needles which have been successfully em ployed for the purpose, and it is to be understood that other forms may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of this invention.

The dial needle 4, shown in Fig. l of the drawing, is composed of two identical halves permanently united only at their inner upturned ends 5, the two halves being normally held tightly together by their own resiliency. Substantially midway their ends the two halves are bulged outwardly laterally as at 6 forming an opening or hole ital-mama of the Maine through.

- wardly, engages the upper portion of the' occur directly tisters above the cylinder needle,

which 0 ening the vertical'needle 3 may upwar y thrust -'when the dial needle is so positioned that said opening properjlly a n foremost "upper" walls of the hole'thus formed are angularly] shaped notches- 7,-

which, when the .needle 4 isthrust forloop 8 otthe stitch in the garment 9 and carries it forwardly so that when the needle 3 is extended'upwa'rdly into: the hole it will within the loop and be surrounded thereby. r

Now when the'needle' is withdrawn-to its normal position'withinthe dial and the cylinder needle subsequently depressed, the latter will carry withit therstitch, having transferred it entirely from the dialneedle, and in which position the' 'knitting is 'conv .tinued, resulting in'the ordinary fiat stitch- From the foregping itfisevident that this; esmay take place when the machine is operated at ordinary speed has there is but slight abnormal action I in 'i'any'of'theworliing -parts;

- transfer of stitc In- F igure -2 of the"drawin g is shown' a {i -pointed as at 'l3 nand thel extreme j'end normally nested ZWlthlIi the conca'ved recess reg-- v the away from the bod the threadbeing used; I r a When' this needle 'is'engaged byits cof 14 aiiord. unobstructed engagement with I p operative cylinder needle in the-act of transferring astitch, the-result is identical with I that previously described, the free end of the auxiliary porti n 12 readily yielding mit of the separation of the two needles.

Having what I claim-and desire" to seoureby LettersPatent,is: 1. A bifurcated needle of). the. class- .45 ofthe needle to perthus described. my invention,

described having the two parts" thereof bulged outwardly at a point intermediate of its ends forming a resilient loopengaging and expanding means for the reception of another needle in transferring the loop" from the bifurcated needlef a A bifurcated in e "of. the ease n, described having the two pa t (thereof bulged outwardly at a point intermediate of its ends forming a resilient loop engagend of one bfthef'bifurcatedportions, and a' pointed inwardly ,tu-rnedfextremity on the .ing and expandingmeans for the reception of another needle through :said bulged por 7 tion,- a gthreadI-"engaging-hook on -the free- Qtherportion djac nt the bulge and nor? I ,mally engagingthe pthe'r bifurcated-.portion, substantiall ;a's="described. p i

signature-1n the presence of two witnesses.

EARD mgwirrinR i 

